Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

Red meat and poultry dominate this ranking because their iron binds easily to the proteins that carry oxygen through your blood. Animal tissues contain haem iron, the form your body absorbs with the fewest obstacles. Plant foods hold non-haem iron, which your gut takes up less readily and only when other compounds in the meal do not block it.

Iron concentrates in organ meats, then muscle meats, then leafy greens and legumes. A single ranking cannot show you absorption rates. Two foods with the same iron count per 100 g deliver different amounts to your bloodstream depending on what else you eat alongside them.

Without animal foods, you lose access to haem iron. Plant sources and fortified foods supply non-haem iron instead, which your body absorbs at a lower rate and loses to interference from phytates, tannins and polyphenols in the same meal. Eating vitamin C alongside iron-rich plants improves uptake substantially. Many fortified cereals and plant milks contain added iron in amounts comparable to meat, but absorption remains the limiting factor on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

FDA daily value: 18 mg

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Showing 3251–3300 of 4,377 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV
3251	Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, all	Beverages	0.37 mg	2%
3252	Fast foods, sundae, hot fudge	Fast Foods	0.37 mg	2%
3253	Babyfood, vegetables, carrots, strained	Baby Foods	0.37 mg	2%
3254	McDONALD'S, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait (without granola)	Fast Foods	0.36 mg	2%
3255	Cherries, sweet, canned, water pack, solids and liquids	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3256	Cherries, sweet, canned, light syrup pack, solids and liquids	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3257	Grapefruit juice, white, canned, sweetened	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3258	Grapes, red or green (European type, such as Thompson seedless), raw	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3259	Mango nectar, canned	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3260	Guanabana nectar, canned	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3261	Gourd, dishcloth (towelgourd), raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3262	Gourd, dishcloth (towelgourd), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3263	Gourd, dishcloth (towelgourd), cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3264	Puddings, vanilla, ready-to-eat, fat free	Sweets	0.36 mg	2%
3265	Passion-fruit juice, yellow, raw	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3266	Peaches, canned, light syrup pack, solids and liquids	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3267	Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, no salt added, solids and liquids (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3268	Squash, summer, all varieties, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3269	Ice creams, BREYERS, No Sugar Added, Vanilla Fudge Twirl	Sweets	0.36 mg	2%
3270	Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, brine pack, regular pack, solids and liquids	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3271	Beets, harvard, canned, solids and liquids	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3272	Drumstick pods, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3273	Squash, summer, all varieties, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.36 mg	2%
3274	Cheese spread, American or Cheddar cheese base, reduced fat	Dairy and Egg Products	0.36 mg	2%
3275	Dressing, honey mustard, fat-free	Fats and Oils	0.36 mg	2%
3276	Ice cream sundae cone	Dairy and Egg Products	0.36 mg	2%
3277	Cherries, sweet, raw	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3278	Crabapples, raw	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.36 mg	2%
3279	Babyfood, juice, apple - cherry	Baby Foods	0.35 mg	2%
3280	Cherries, sweet, canned, pitted, heavy syrup, drained	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.35 mg	2%
3281	Applesauce, canned, sweetened, with salt	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.35 mg	2%
3282	Naranjilla (lulo) pulp, frozen, unsweetened	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.35 mg	2%
3283	Salad dressing, peppercorn dressing, commercial, regular	Fats and Oils	0.35 mg	2%
3284	Rambutan, canned, syrup pack	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.35 mg	2%
3285	Corn, sweet, white, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3286	Catsup	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3287	Salad dressing, green goddess, regular	Fats and Oils	0.35 mg	2%
3288	Corn, sweet, white, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3289	Catsup, low sodium	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3290	Desserts, egg custard, baked, prepared-from-recipe	Sweets	0.35 mg	2%
3291	Rice flour, white, unenriched	Cereal Grains and Pasta	0.35 mg	2%
3292	Potatoes, baked, flesh, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3293	Potatoes, baked, flesh, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3294	Squash, summer, all varieties, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.35 mg	2%
3295	Babyfood, fruit, prunes with tapioca, without ascorbic acid, strained	Baby Foods	0.35 mg	2%
3296	Babyfood, juice, orange and apple and banana	Baby Foods	0.35 mg	2%
3297	Cherries, sweet, canned, extra heavy syrup pack, solids and liquids	Fruits and Fruit Juices	0.35 mg	2%
3298	McDONALD'S, Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Cone	Fast Foods	0.35 mg	2%
3299	Cheese sauce, prepared from recipe	Dairy and Egg Products	0.35 mg	2%
3300	Soup, cream of asparagus, canned, prepared with equal volume milk	Soups, Sauces, and Gravies	0.35 mg	2%

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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